When we first decided to get chickens, my intention came from an omnivore’s point of view….FRESH EGGS! Little did I know that these little darlings would become our lovable pets first and foremost….and fresh eggs as a really cool bonus feature.

Sidenote: Wouldn’t it be cool if every pet came with an unrelated bonus feature….like if your cat does your dishes or your dog mows your lawn!???

So back in January, I promised the boys that we’d get another batch of chickens to add to our current flock of 5. The three of us spent hours researching each and every kind of chicken breed and finally decided to surprise ourselves with an assortment of 5 day-old baby chicks from the “rare breed” category from My Pet Chicken.

We were guaranteed at least 3 of these breeds (see photo on left from My Pet Chicken).

Some of these guys look so funny! With furry feathered feet, a pompadour hat, mohawk or gown of feathers!

There’s a high demand for day-old chicks (go homesteaders!) and we wouldn’t be able to get our chicks  until first week of April.

They finally arrived, the post office called and left a message, “Uh, we’ve got a box for you here and it’s moving and chirping. Um. Please come asap to pick it up, like today.”

Baby chicks are shipped precisely right when they hatch, there’s actually no need for any food or water for a couple of days, as the yolk they’ve consumed during their incubation sustains them during the transport. The biggest worry is cold, so the chicks are shipped with a heat pouch – you know the type you slap and stick in your pocket when you’re skiing.

Sure enough, they arrived safe and sound!

We brought them to school to show the kids, since they were learning about “oviparous” animals (animals that lay eggs)

We toured at least 12 different 1st and 3rd grade classes with the baby chicks.

Oh I wish I had videotaped it – for some of the kids, it was the very first time they’ve ever touched a live chicken.

The oooohs and aaaaaahhhh and awwwwwws!

 

Falling in love…..

One of the chicks even fell asleep.

These chicks love to sleep! This little one fell asleep standing up:

We haven’t named the chicks yet, we’re spending some a little more time with them first and getting to know each of their personalities. But would LOVE to hear some ideas for names from you! Here were some from Faceobook:

Black Eyed Pea
Chica
Captain Awesome, Savior of Her Peeples (thanks Garrett)
Corn Nut
Hot Wings
Bandit (from Scotty)
Snack Pack
Extra Crispy
Gai (Chinese for chicken) from Jacqueline
Nugget
Honey Bunny
Spotty Dotty
Speckle
Cadbury
Left Eye
Scramble
Camo Chic
Mellow Peep